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Very much in style of the 'Communion' nights set up by Mumford and Sons, Cloud Control are putting on ‘The Aviary’: a run of four shows at The Social featuring themselves, plus a selection of hand-picked guests.

Tonight, Plant Plants open proceedings armed with a keyboard, guitar and an endless stream of samples. This London-based duo conjure up some nice party electro pop, which was surprising as we were expecting a watered down version of this evening's curators. We can now see why they called it ‘The Aviary’, as unlike a hen house with the same brown bird laying the same eggs, their night is one of diversity and colour.

Mysterious trio Cymbals take the reins soon after. For a group that isn’t forthcoming with giving away personal information, including their names, they're a very bouncy, enthusiastic band whose set is reminiscent of early Foals. The drummer is personifies verve, while the contagiously funky bass lines get our feet tapping. Unfortunately the vocals are lost in the mix, but full marks to our charming singer for his passionate delivery.

As the venue fills to capacity, Cloud Control take to the stage armed with their garage-infused, psych-folk. Heidi Lenffer appears at home behind her keyboard, channeling hipster cool and wielding some mean tambourine to boot. While lead singer Alister Wright is all sparkly-eyed peeping through a massive fringe to infect the crowd with his radiant smile.

The quartet doesn’t wait long to drop their big hitter, ‘Death Cloud’. Its familiarity instantly igniting the crowd and amplifying the already favorable mood up a notch. The three-part harmonies are beautiful. Heidi’s velvety voice underpinning the delicacy of Alister’s, only for them to be pulled together by bassist Jeremy Kelshaw's guttural echoing.

The swirling Sixties visuals work perfectly for the psychedelic leanings of ‘Gold Canary’. Its primal, pulsating rhythms cause the crowd to venture one step beyond head nodding and into a full body tribal stomp.

Words by Vanessa Higgins
Photo by Rachel Lipsitz

View an accompanying photo gallery from Cloud Control's The Aviary' event with Plant Plants and Cymbals on ClashMusic.com HERE.